adjective
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wretched, deplorable, or distressing
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an archaic word for mournful
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lamentable
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin lāmentābilis, equivalent to lāmentā ( rī ) ( see lament) + -bilis -ble
Explanation
Something that's lamentable is unfortunate. If your basketball team gets defeated in the final game, you could call it a lamentable way for the season to end. Something that's not satisfactory can be described as lamentable, like a high school art room equipped with only crayons and construction paper. A person's inappropriate behavior could also be considered lamentable — whether it's the cruel words of a bully or your lack of preparation for an important speech. The Latin word lamentationem is at the root of lamentable, and it means "wailing, moaning, or weeping." If a situation is bad enough to make you cry, it's lamentable.
Vocabulary lists containing lamentable
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
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Romeo and Juliet
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ella, whose innocent, concerned face shows an interest in reading her father’s moods, has picked up that a new horizon isn’t entirely lamentable.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
"I see it as a very lamentable dereliction of duty and of ambition and of focus and I would like to see next Welsh government change that," she said.
From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2026
"Local police and Spain's Civil Guard have begun investigating to try to clear up this lamentable event, in which everything points towards a robbery," read the post.
From Barron's ● Jan. 20, 2026
And in this case in particular, for a lamentable reason.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 3, 2024
And no one’s stopping, and she’s lying there on her back, a bulky fifty-odd woman in a poor-person green coat, gabardine, and lamentable shoes all cracked, her arms outflung.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
